


Give Yourself To Trust

by jseca



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Taako learns to trust, spoilers up to The Suffering Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 07:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11686956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jseca/pseuds/jseca
Summary: "It sneaks up on him one morning with the practised finesse of a veteran Rogue, so quiet and masterful that he wakes from his nightly trance with the thought just.. there, in his head, throwing him for a pleasantly surprising loop.This is what having friends feels like."It's not an easy thing, but Taako learns to trust, and as he goes, he slowly learns how to love, as well.





	Give Yourself To Trust

It’s quiet in the void.  Quiet, dark, timeless.  It’s the sort of place, this plane lacking in any discernible cardinal direction, where a wizard recently made incorporeal can free-float in the gravity-less vacuum and just.. think.  He can see the speck in the distance that is Magnus’ soul ripped unfairly from his body – unfair like everything else in this incongruously named ‘Wonderland’ (more like – like ‘Fuck You Land.’  ..Not his best work.  Whatever.) - and as Taako pushes himself as fast as he can possibly go to reach his friend and pull him back from the looming threat of the astral plane, he has.. a lot of thoughts in a very short space of time.

It all stems from one primary string:

_Taako from this time last year would never have done this._

**i.**

Taako’s trying his best to lie low, still.  It’s been a good few months since… The Incident, but that doesn’t mean he’s off the hook, legally, and he doesn’t like to consider himself one easily shaken, but the memories, well.  They would haunt the staunchest of men, and Taako’s ego doesn’t carry as far as to label himself particularly ‘staunch.’

Now, the guy sitting and skilfully whittling away at what was already a pretty impressive looking large wooden duck, that’s an adjective that would _certainly_ apply to him.  Taako pauses to sip at his drink after his latest, beefy transmutation failure.  Cheek in hand, absently fiddling with the straw still stuck in his mouth, Taako looks him up and down from under the brim of his hat.  He’s a fighter for sure; his rusted axe swung over his back and bulky armour fitting around his equally bulky, muscular figure all attest to that. 

 _‘Mm,’_ Taako thinks in mild appreciation, and then puts his drink down and turns his focus to his spoon.  He’s going to transmutate this spoon so right.  This time for sure.  No Coca-Cola tables this time, no sir.

Except that’s when he hears his name being called across from the other side of the tavern by some dwarf he’s never seen before and, well.  That’s his day ruined. 

**ii.**

The Triboar Trail is – it’s kind of pretty, Taako supposes, lined by trees and other assorted greenery, but after staring at it as it perpetually fades into the distance from the back of a wagon for a whole day, it’s started to lose any sort of appeal it might have had at first. 

Patience has never been one of Taako’s strongest virtues.

He’s itching to attempt some more transmutation with all this free time he’s got on his hands, but the rational part of his mind tells him that he might not get paid by Gundren if they arrive with half the items they’re supposed to be handing over in Phandalin turned into beef and glass and smoke.  So instead he prestidigitates for a while; a small handful of flames here, a couple of fireworks thrown out of the back of the wagon there. 

It’s kind of weird, travelling with people for the first time since.. That.  He doesn’t trust these guys, Magnus and Merle, as far as he could throw them, which he’d be the first to admit wouldn’t be very far; he’s a wizard, flinging things is for those with actual proficiencies in strength.  He doesn’t know them, their backstory, their motives – nothing except that they’re in this for the same reason he is: gold.  The last job they’ll ever have to take?  … Slightly ominous, sure.  But still, yes please.  It’s the kind of money he could use to get himself back on his feet, rise like a phoenix from the ashes of disgrace to take his rightful place as a loved public figure once more.  If he needs to use these two schmucks to get there, well, he thinks, he’s just going to have to deal with it.  He throws another half-assed firework off into the distance.  Good thing they’re just cantrips – endless hours of mild entertainment right at his fingertips.

“That’s _so cool,_ ” Magnus says out of goddamn nowhere, in that naturally booming voice of his to boot.  Taako nearly falls off the wagon.

“Uh, yeah, thanks.”  _Like nothing ever happened.  Smooth as ever, Taako._ “… Why are we stopped?”

Magnus shrugs, hopping onto the side of the wagon and sitting down beside Taako.  Not long after, Merle comes into view too, munching away on some snack he brought with him.  “Needed a break,” Magnus explains, aggressively chipper as always.  “Seriously, you can just – make fireworks?  Outta nothing?”

Taako sort of stares at Magnus for a second too long, trying to figure out if he’s joking or not.  “It’s – it’s just prestidigitation, my dude.  It’s like, the most basic magic there is.” He holds a hand out and casts a few errant sparks from the tips of his fingers as a small demonstration.

“… Come again?” Magnus’s face exudes confusion.  “Pres… dig… huh?”

“Prestidigitation,” Taako repeats, not bothering to slow it down.  “It’s a cantrip.”

Magnus blinks.  “Cantrip?”

“Oh boy,” Merle chips in, laughing mostly to himself.  “Never met a wizard before, huh Magnus?”

“They’re a mystery to me too,” Taako admits.  “But I can do shit like this with them, so,” he says, and points a hand straight up.  It starts to glow a soft white, out of which gradually begins to shoot a controlled, muted ray of frost.  A small cascade of perfectly formed snowflakes flutters down onto the three of them, and Magnus looks _amazed._   There’s a child-like wonder on his face that genuinely takes Taako aback for a second with how open and honest it is.  It’s… it’s just a cantrip.  It’s really not –

“ _Awesome,”_ Magnus finally says, lifting his hand up to catch some of the flakes in his palm.  God, he’ll be licking  them next.  Merle laughs the warm laugh of a Dad watching his small son experiencing the world’s wonders for the first time, (although in this scenario, Merle would be the small Dad.  .. Right, too far into the fiction.) and Taako… he realises, just a second too late, that he’s smiling.

Damnit.  He does _not_ want to get emotionally involved.

**iii.**

Here’s the thing.  Taako’s got this shit under control.  This job can throw as many damn curveballs at him as it likes, but his objective stays the same: get in, get money, get out, even if they have to go rescue their idiot employers to do it.  (Seriously, who manages to get themselves kidnapped by _goblins?_ )  Magnus and Merle are just means to an end.

.. Is what he keeps telling himself.

They’re exasperating as all hell to adventure with, especially Magnus and his proclivity for thinking with his axe rather than taking a moment and planning things out.  It’s not Taako’s style at all, the whole – rushing in and hoping to intimidate the enemy with sheer force of manly flexing and posturing.  He’s basically asking for trouble at every turn.

It’s just.

And he’s keeping this firmly to himself.

But as they make their way through Cragmaw Cave, blasting goblins and somehow befriending a giant frickin’ bugbear with an unnervingly strong love for oolong, Taako quietly realises that he hasn’t had this much fun in –- a long time.  (A little insensitive, maybe, given Barry’s general state of unconsciousness, but whatever, they hardly know him.)  It’s been _so long_ since he got to work his spellcasting this much, and it’s like welcoming back an old friend, where the ‘friend’ in question is a sick barrage of magic missiles.  Totally counts.

But it’s not just that; as much as he keeps telling himself not to get in too deep, and as much as he thinks his two companions definitely fall under the dictionary definition of ‘idiot’.. they’re not the worst people to be around.  They have a weird sort of synergy that Taako can’t quite put a finger on; a dynamic that he’d normally associate with people who have known each other for a fair bit longer than their couple of days.  He wouldn’t dream of going as far as to call if ‘friendship’ or ‘camaraderie,’ but.. it’s something.

Magnus even _saves_ him, which he really didn’t have to do, and waking up to a potion at his lips and strong arms around his waist is definitely cheesy as hell, no arguments there, but it’s certainly appreciated.  Even if Magnus’ innate protective nature could _definitely_ have kicked in a bit earlier to save him from going unconscious in the first place.   Still.  It definitely gets Magnus some kudos points in Taako’s book.

But anyway, enough of the sentiment. He has a goal, and he’s sticking to it.  Get in, get money, get out.

**iv.**

Well.  Until Phandalin.

**v.**

“What the fuck, right?”

Taako starts out of his quiet reverie with a jump.  Damnit, he _still_ hasn’t managed to completely tune into Magnus’ deep, rich baritone – it catches him off guard, especially when he’s just trying to get some quiet Taako alone time in.  Things have been… weird, since they failed to prevent a magical nuke going off and destroying an entire city.  Even for Taako, that’s not an average day by a long shot.  It’s so far from average that it crosses the border into ‘extreme.’  And now they’re employees to a mysterious, fashion-savvy lady on a fake moon?  Yeah.  What the fuck is right.

At his hip, the Umbra Staff pulses gently.

“You said it,” he replies without bothering to turn around.  Truthfully, he doesn’t really want to talk to anyone right now.  That’s kind of why, after they’d finished up at the Fantasy Costco, he found a quiet corner of the moon-base to sit and contemplate how his life had changed in the past twenty-four hours.

“You… wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.” Taako shrugs.

“Oh, uh, right.” He practically _hears_ Magnus hesitate as he decides whether or not to just walk away.

“… Wait.”  In for a copper..  “Yeah.  Okay.”  Taako finally turns his head and motions almost imperceptibly for Magnus to come join him at the rail he’s leaning on.  There’s silence for a moment as they both stare out into the starry expanse in front of them. They certainly don’t skimp on the view here at the Bureau of Balance, that’s for sure.

“You wanna hear something funny?” Taako asks, apropos of nothing.

“Uh, sure?” Magnus blinks as he looks over to Taako in blatant confusion.  Figures.  If there’s one thing Taako’s sussed out about Magnus, it’s that he isn’t about the ‘hiding your feelings’ life like Taako is; where Taako hides behind nonchalance and outward apathy, Magnus has his heart right there on his sleeve for everyone to just – stare at, pick at.

“I was kind of hoping this would be an in’n’out, never have to see you guys again type deal, at first.” Taako isn’t one to mince words, either.  He chuckles to himself, leaning down to rest his cheek on his palm.  “Look how that turned out.”

To Taako’s surprise, Magnus lets out a hearty laugh in return.  “I hear you.  Remember how I was set on working alone, back there in the tavern?  Boy, am I glad I came around on that.”

“You are, huh?” Taako raises an eyebrow, and Magnus grins. 

“Of course!  Look at everything we got done!  We’re a great team, Taako!”

“If you say so,” Taako tries to shrug it off, but his body is betraying him: the very corner of his mouth is threatening to turn up.

“Huh?  Huh?” Magnus smiles wider, ribbing Taako with his elbow.  He’s trying to get him to break.  Bring him to the optimist’s side.  Good luck.

“We did destroy an entire city,” Taako drops outta goddamn nowhere, and Magnus’ smile sinks like he’s a kid who just dropped his ice cream, except this ice cream is Phandalin, which, like the ice cream, is now cold and dead on the ground.  … Look, Taako never claimed to be great at metaphors.  (Now, _aphorisms..)_

“That was not great,” Magnus says after a slight, weighted hesitation.  “But.. it’s not like _we_ did it.  We didn’t pull the trigger that set Gundren off.”

“But it _was_ the catalyst for all this shit that’s led me to being stuck with you guys for like, possibly ever?” Deflecting is one of Taako’s specialities.  He does try to shift his tone to suggest that he’s actually joking, a little.  But then Magnus is quiet for a beat too long, and when Taako finally turns his head to look at him, he runs right into Magnus’s wide-eyed stare, like he’s trying to gaze into Taako’s soul.  Taako winces.  “I’m kidding, sheesh.  Yeah, we made a pretty baller team out there, and maybe we did play a hand in turning an entire city into glass, but at least we’ve made sure it’s never going to happen again.”  Taako takes a breath.  “Better?  ‘Cuz that’s the most you’re gonna get outta me today, homie.”

Magnus stays staring at Taako for a couple of seconds, and Taako begins to wonder if he’s going to have the find his ‘restart’ button until he finally shakes his head in wonderment, smile returning.  Taako’s quietly glad.  It was weird to see Magnus looking that – shaken.

“Yeah, you’re right.  We did something good today – we’ve pre-emptively protected a lot of people!  We can take pride in that, at least.” Magnus reaches over and gives Taako a manly whack on the shoulder.  He thinks it’s supposed to be a camaraderic, ‘look at us being two cool dudes together’ type gesture, but, ow.  Know your own strength, dude.  “Hey, wanna go check out our new digs?”

“Yeah, sure, might as well see just how much the B-oh-B puts out for their new heroes.”

As Magnus turns to walk away, Taako takes a moment to smile at his retreating figure.  First impressions really can be deceiving.

**vi.**

A couple of weeks into living in their… _cosy_ entry level Bureau of Balance dormitory (seriously, they’re practically _VIPs_ around here, that doesn’t warrant something a _little_ more plush?  Some fluffy pillows, at least?), the boys get individual invites to their first work party slid under their door. Taako holds it up to eye level, staring (not for the first time) incredulously at the location’s logo emblazoned across a decent portion of the paper: **‘Chug n’ Squeeze’.** Really?  He frowns, lowering the invite down to reveal a building adorned with a hanging sign that reads, no doubt about it, ‘Chug n’ Squeeze’. 

“Can’t imagine that was the Director’s choice,” Merle muses, but shrugs and makes his way toward the entrance.  “You comin’, fellas?”

Magnus is quick to follow, of course, and Taako is close behind.  He’s not gonna deny the opportunity to finally have a par-tay up in this joint, even if it _is_ some schmoozy work thing. 

“Who set this shindig up, anyway?” Taako asks as they make their way through the door.  He’d discovered in the interim between receiving the invite and actually attending that the ‘squeezing’ refers to the Cn’G’s own popular pottery sessions, but it looks like that’s all been locked up for the night in favour of a make-shift stage, and with a little bit of thaumaturgy and a guitarist, the karaoke promised on the invite, already in full swing.  Whoever’s singing right now is leaving a lot to be desired.

“Who d’you think?” Merle grins as they make their way over to the bar.  “Madame Director herself, of course.  Something about co-worker bonding, or some shit.”

“You think she’s gonna be here?” Magnus asks, and Merle laughs heartily in response.

“She seem like the type to get down with the mere worker ants?  Nah, she’s got more important stuff to do.”

“I dunno, I reckon she’s hiding some sweet moves from us all.  Just gotta get her off that dais and onto the dance floor, see how she gets her groove on.” Taako takes a sip of his newly acquired beverage as he leans back against the bar.  “She could surprise us all.”

One drink quickly turns into two, and then three, and then _Merle_ is the one surprising them all as he makes his way onto the dancefloor and busts out some pretty slick, ‘dance like nobody’s watching’ moves. 

“I totally had him pegged for a dad dancer,” Taako muses in muted wonderment.   

“Hey, you should get out there too!”  Magnus points toward the stage, to the karaoke setup.  Taako raises his eyebrows at him in silent response.  “Come _on._ Tell me you aren’t a natural at this sort of thing!” He’s slurring his words a little as he pushes none-too-gently at Taako’s shoulders.  “Look at you.  _Look at you!”_ He motions up and down at Taako’s – well, everything.“ You’ve got the fantasy pop star thing down to a **_T_** _._ ”

“Well, I mean, sure, that much goes without saying,” Taako agrees, but he’s still side-eying the stage warily.  He doesn’t need to be drunk to flaunt his stuff, but it’d be the first time he’s been up on any sort of stage since You Know What.  Still, he’s never one to back down from a challenge, and he can’t let an amazing outfit like this one go to waste, so, “y’know what?  Let’s do this,” he decides, downing a couple of shots in record time before putting on his game face and striding over to the spotlight, backed by Magnus’ raucous clapping and cheering. 

It’s been so long since he’s been mentally able to put himself in the limelight, and there’s no denying that it feels _awesome,_ like a weight is being lifted from his back; like vindication, almost.  Not quite, but almost.  And it’s a performance to remember, Taako makes sure of that, just like every other performance he’s ever put on.  What he lacks in vocal talent he makes up for with his practiced and perfected stage personality and charisma, using all that and even a sneaky bit of prestidigitation to his advantage to get the audience eating from the palm of his hand.

(Except, not literally, because – yeah.)

Magnus and Merle joining in as his overly enthusiastic back-up dancers added a certain charm to the whole thing, everyone would later agree.  Especially when Magnus whooped and cheered and wrapped Taako up in a drunken bear hug as the song finished.  There they go now, they said, a tear in their collective eyes.  The Bureau’s newest heroes.

**vii.**

It’s the morning after.. whatever all that was that it sneaks up on him with the practised finesse of a veteran Rogue, so quiet and masterful that he wakes from his nightly trance with the thought just.. there, in his head, throwing him for a pleasantly surprising loop. 

This is what having friends feels like.

**viii.**

\-- and no, it’s not just onset Stockholm Syndrome from having to eat, sleep and breath in the same dormitory as his companions, as much as Taako tries to attribute it to that, at first. 

And sure, friendship is one thing, but Taako lives by his own rules, and ‘Taako comes first’ will always sit right there at the very top of the list.  Just because he’s feeling a few warm fuzzies when he’s around these guys and their almost familiar sense of humour doesn’t mean that he trusts them to keep him alive, not until they’ve proved themselves, and honestly?  They still haven’t got the whole ‘teamwork’ thing down quite right yet.  Oh, sure, they’re totally in sync when it comes to kicking it at Tom Bodett’s sprinkler parties, or when it comes to messing with the prissy little kid on the Rockport Limited, or, even better, messing with the even prissier wizard attendant on the Rockport Limited.  It’s all fun and games until there’s a giant flaming crab hurling itself down at you from the ceiling. 

The problem is, Taako thinks in between majestically hurling spells down train carriages, is that the synergy they have when they’re making fun of other people disintegrates whenever danger’s afoot.  They get the job done, no doubt about it, but it lacks any sort of finesse.  Things would run a lot smoother if, for instance, their cleric remembered that he actually had healing spells, or if Magnus would just hold back for a second and think _tactics_ before barrelling in and hoping for the best.  Though there’s not much hope for that.

But, to his credit, maybe it’s a good thing his sense of danger is so out of control if it means he’s going to keep pulling off extremely dangerous, extremely off-the-scale _cool_ stunts to make sure shit gets done.  It’s practically inspiring how he’ll throw caution to the wind and fling himself out of a train window not only once, but _twice,_ so strong is his need to protect those around him.  Taako’s sense of self-preservation is _far_ too high to pull anything close, and as a weird result, he actually finds that he’s starting to admire Magnus’s balls-to-the-wall approach to life.  At least if he goes, Taako muses, he’ll go out in a blaze of glory.

**ix.**

Speaking of balls..

Look, it’s not like Taako doesn’t appreciate said lengths Magnus will go to protect his friends, up to and including hanging perilously from a rope whilst clinging on to those same friends as a hideous mass of living vines shoots up toward them like a scene straight out of a horror myth.  After nearly dying in an elevator.  Taako feels like it’s important to mention the goddamn elevator.  But…

Now that he knows first hand that there’s always going to be a 50/50 chance that he’s just fucking _free-balling_ up in his shit, he’s not sure he’s ever going to accept help from Magnus Burnsides again. 

That image is permanently burnt into his brain.

**x.**

Taako really, _really_ isn’t expecting the call from the Director.  It just isn’t her style, bringing her employees in one-on-one for some individual face time; her schtick is staring down at a group of people from her fancy chair and getting them to do stuff for her.  It’s almost jarring to walk into the vast space and see a table and two chairs laid out at the foot of the throne, one occupied by the Director herself.  She’s holding a cup of an ambiguous, steaming hot beverage with all her natural grace and poise as she stares thoughtfully into the distance, seemingly unaware of Taako as he makes his way down towards her.

“I thought you weren’t about abiding by old lady stereotypes,” Taako quips as he pulls out the other chair and makes himself comfortable. He can’t help but feel a little disappointed when she doesn’t drop her tea – in fact, she barely even flinches.  The woman’s a pro.

“I’m… sorry?” She blinks slowly, eyebrows dipping ever so slightly in a frown.  Taako motions to the cup; her eyes follow slowly, and she pauses.  And then –

“Oh.  Well.  I, too, like to party.”

Taako can’t even formulate a response.  The Director stares him dead in the eye as she takes another graceful sip of tea.  He is felled.  He’s done. 

“I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve brought you here,” she continues, setting her tea down on the table and folding her arms over her legs.  Taako gathers his strength.

“Uh, yeah, actually.  I figured maybe you’d had enough of us and were planning to drop-kick us off the Moonbase or something.”

She chuckles softly.  “No, no.  Nothing like that.”

“So we’re not getting fired?”

The Director narrows her eyes.  “I don’t – does that equate to being.. ‘drop-kicked’ off the base?”

“Well, neither would be great.”

“Mm.. hmm.  No, Taako, you’re not being fired.  Especially not after you managed to bring back another Grand Relic.  You’re far too important for us to lose - I hope you understand that.”

Taako can’t help the small rush of relief that washes over him, hearing that.  He’s not entirely sure when he made the mental switch to genuinely caring whether or not he keeps this new position he’s fallen (or, more accurately, flown) into, and in fact doesn’t really _want_ to take that train of thought any deeper for fear of bringing up ‘emotions’ and ‘feelings’, but hearing that he’s staying – it’s.  It’s pretty good.

“Well then, Madame Directo -,” Taako pauses.  “Look.  Can I just please, _please_ ask you your name?  It’ll streamline this whole thing, like, so good.”

The Director actually pauses, and if Taako can read her right it looks like she’s conflicted.  He doesn’t get it – it’s just a name.  How much weight could it possibly hold?

“I suppose – yes.  You can call me Lucretia.  But,” and she leans forward almost imperceptibly in her seat, but enough to show she means business.  “ _Only_ here.”

“For sure.  Lucretia, right.  Thanks.”  Taako nods in appreciation.  “So, _Lucretia,_ what _am_ I doing here?”

“Call it… your quarterly review,” Lucretia decides on after a moment’s contemplation.  Taako groans.

“Way to be corporate and _boring,_ Luc,” he throws a hand dramatically up to his forehead in disdain, and in doing so nearly misses the way Lucretia just – freezes.  He hesitates mid-motion.  “Uh, did I say something?”

“Please don’t call me that,” is all she says, and then pushes right along like nothing ever happened. “I just want to gauge how my newest recruits are finding life at the Bureau of Balance, that’s all.”

“Uh, well, yeah, good.  I guess,” Taako shrugs.  “Can’t complain.”

Lucretia stares him down.  Taako sighs in defeat.

“I mean, this is way beyond anywhere I ever imagined my life going.  I’ve been a _fugitive._ I was disgraced!  And now, I’m like, saving the world or some shit.  I dunno, how deep do you want me to get here, are we talking ground level or subterranean?”

“As much as you’re comfortable with.  But I am particularly interested in how you feel you work with your fellow Reclaimers.”

“They’re -,” he hesitates.  “Okay, so at first I thought they were major-level stupid, right?  But it turns out we’re actually a pretty good team.  Not the most conventional team, I grant you, and _some_ people pull their weight more than others, but, they’re – we all kinda got flung into this together; that makes for some serious bonding.”  He smiles, despite himself.  “Merle’s like, this dwarven Dad I never had, and Magnus -,” Taako pauses, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words.  Where could he even begin?  He glances up at Lucretia, and is surprised to see a hint of urgency on her face, as if she _needs_ to hear what Taako’s about to put down.  “He’s - he’s going to end up killing himself trying to protect _us_ , which is strangely admirable.  He cares too much for his own good.  .. I can’t say I necessarily trust them to, like, keep me alive or whatever, but we’ve got each other’s backs.  I think.”

Lucretia nods along as he speaks, looking deep in thought as she processes this new information.  After a moment, she looks up, and Taako is taken aback by how serious she seems all of a sudden.  “By no means do I want to tell you how to live your life, Taako, but you _should_ trust them.  The three of you – you’re doing incredible things for this world.  More than you could even imagine.  And you can only do it _together._ Do you understand?”  There’s something there, in her eyes.  Something like desperation.

“I – yeah.” Taako nods slowly, reassuringly, more than a little taken aback. “I – okay.  I’ll work on that.”

**xi.**

“ – And then I _smashed_ that tank with Railsplitter, remember that, Merle?  Oh man, that was _great._ Oh, shit, and then I threw their octopus right at them!” Magnus pushes himself back in his chair with the force of his laughter – and then pauses, suddenly.  “I wonder what happened to that octopus.”

“Beats me.  Little guy had a harness, he’s fine,” Taako shrugs in a nonchalant ‘what can you do’ gesture.

“I’m sure he’s acclimatised to his new habitat by now,” Merle agrees for the sake of keeping Magnus happy.  Dude loves his animals.

This had been Magnus’ idea in the first place, this drinks session the three of them are enjoying in their brand new dormitory kitchen.  “It occurred to me that I know pretty much next to nothing about the two of you, and I want to remedy that,” he had said, and had proceeded to pull out an entire rack of alcohol from under his bed; an offer neither Merle nor Taako could possibly refuse.

“I think Taako won everything with Garyl, though,” Magnus continues.  “Like, where have you been hiding _him_?!  I want to hang out with Garyl all the time.  I want him to be my horsey friend.”

“Okay, let me stop you there – first, Garyl is no mere horse, okay, he’s a majestic _binicorn_.  Second, Garyl is by appointment only, and his PA is yours truly.  You know what that means?  You gotta go through _me_ to get to him _,_ and let me tell you, he is _booked.  Out._ ”

“Well, shit!”

“It’ll be worth the wait,” Merle points out, correctly.  “Garyl is one smooth operator.”

“Hey, Taako, tell me, where did you learn magic so good anyway?” Magnus asks, abruptly switching the subject.  Drunk Magnus and proper sentence structure have never been the best of friends. 

“For your show, right?” Merle puts in.

“Oh shit, that’s right, I forgot you were some big hotshot magic food guy.”

“Yeah, I had to keep the people interested _somehow_.”  Taako finds that it’s easier to talk about now that he’s got a few drinks in him.  “Started basic, now I’m here – turns out I’m just naturally shit-hot at wizardry.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he swears he feels static.

“And at being humble” Merle jokes, grinning.  Taako shrugs wistfully.

“When you got it, you got it, my dude, what can I say?  Unlike some people.”  He stares directly at Merle.

“Hey!  I haven’t let any of you die yet!”

“’Yet’.”  Taako repeats, still staring.

“Aaaah, ignore him, Merle, you’re doing great!  That Strength of the Bull shit?  _Awesome._ ” Magnus swings an arm around Merle, bringing him in for a one-armed squeeze to emphasize his point.

“Th – anks…” Merle manages to get out with the little breath he suddenly finds he has left.  Strength of the Bull indeed.  Taako watches on, grinning.

“Don’t pop him, Mags,” he says around his glass.  Magnus lets go abruptly, and just – stares at Taako in awe, mouth wide open.  Taako raises an eyebrow.

“What?  Is there a dog on me?”

“’ _Mags?_ ” Magnus repeats in wonderment.  “A nickname?  From _Taako?!_ ”

“Nope, definitely not,” Taako grumbles, inwardly cursing his mistake and   staring anywhere but at Magnus or Merle.  Damn you, alcohol.

“He’s _blushing!_ ” Merle runs over and pokes a finger right at his cheek, sounding like a small child on Candlenights.

“Right, well, it’s been fun, guys, but I must take my leave -,”

“Awww, buddy, don’t be like that!” Magnus gets up, and Taako can see it coming before it happens like it’s in slow-motion, but he still can’t get away in time before Magnus’s beefy arms come up around him, squeezing him tightly to his chest.

“ _G’ack.”_

“I know, buddy.  Let the love flow,” Magnus grins, swaying Taako from side to side, and suddenly he knows what it is to feel seasick.  From the side-lines, Merle’s laughing so hard his head is buried in his arms.  Taako reaches up as best he can and pats Magnus gently on the shoulder.

“Yup.  Cool.”

**xii.**

The macaroons are baking nicely under the softly burning fire.  Taako knows this because he has been staring at them unblinkingly for the past fifteen minutes, watching for – well, he isn’t sure himself.  For something, _anything_ , that would hint at the recipe having gone horribly wrong.  So far so good, but this is the first time he’s truly cooked something in a long time, and his stomach keeps turning uncomfortably.

The question on his mind, past ‘will these be poisonous’, is ‘will anyone trust me enough to want to eat them?’

Because he really, truly doesn’t know, and this is like, the ultimate test, both for himself and for his friends.  He doesn’t want to poison anybody, and he’s pretty sure nobody wants to be poisoned, either.  It’s kind of an ethically grey area, especially for a Candlenights present, but he’s in too deep to stop now.  Plus, y’know, he really does want to do something to thank these people who have changed his life, and he knows no way to say it better than with his famed elderflower macaroons.  It’s like heaven in a mouthful, if he does say so himself, with those almonds ground just right and that perfect crunchy, yet chewy texture.  Mm.

“What’re you up to?” Magnus says from the kitchen door, and Taako _flies_ up, spinning on his heel, heart racing.  Where the fuck did he even _come_ from? 

(The simple answer here is that Taako had been so deeply embroiled in staring at his creations that he hadn’t heard Magnus slam the door as he entered the dormitory.  Not out of anger, or anything. Boy’s just got a strong arm.)

“Oh, my god.  Magnus.  What the hell.”

Magnus chuckles.  “Sorry,” he says, not looking at all sorry.  “Smells good in here!  Are you cooking?”  He leans over to try and look around Taako, who moves directly back into his line of sight.

“I thought you weren’t gonna be back for like, another hour,” Taako huffs.  Magnus contemplates the situation he’s found himself in for a hot second.

“Oh!  Is it… a Candlenights thing?”

“Got it in one, homie.”  Taako sighs, glancing back at his macaroons to make sure nothing untoward has happened to them in the last couple of minutes.  Judging from the colour, they’re probably nearly ready, actually.  He picks up the Umbra Staff and turns back around to gradually lower the intensity of the flames.

“Hey, come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve actually seen you cook anything,” Magnus says as he walks closer.

“It’s when the inspiration hits, my man,” Taako replies absently, more focused on levitating the macaroons individually up and onto a plate for cooling. 

“We’ve been trying to get you to make us something for _ages_!”

“Yeah, well, I’m not you guys’ personal chef, you know.  We’re all adults here, we can do our own thing.”

“I dunno, it just seems like something you’d want to do every once in a while.  I still carve stuff in my free time,” Magnus points out. 

Taako is silent.

Magnus shifts awkwardly.

“… You know what happened, don’t you?” Taako asks quietly as he finishes plating up the macaroons, their various pastel colours complimenting each other perfectly for an aesthetically pleasing display as well as a delicious one.

“Well, yeah.  I know.  But – Taako, you’re an _amazing_ wizard, and I’m sure you’re a brilliant cook, too.  I mean, look at those!  It’s one slip-up, it shouldn’t control your life like this.  Hey, look.”  And before Taako can do anything about it, before he can stop him from ruining his perfectly planned out colour spread, Magnus reaches over him and plucks a cookie from the plate.  He looks it over for a second, more to appreciate the craftsmanship than to check for anything off, and then sticks the entire thing in his mouth. 

Taako feels instantly sick.  Shit.  He’s killed Magnus!  He’s done it again, he’s going to be ruined, _again –_

“That’s fucking _incredible,”_ Magnus murmurs in awe.  “Damn, Taako.  It really wasn’t just all talk.”

Taako can’t bring himself to reply; he’s too busy watching Magnus like a hawk for any sign of discolouration, or sudden loss of breathing, or foaming at the mouth, or –

“Hey!  Hey, chill out,” Magnus reaches out his hands and places them on Taako’s shoulders, shaking him as lightly as he can possibly manage.  Taako blinks, looking up at his friend.  “I’m fine, see?”  He grins widely.  “I just had one of the best cookies _ever_ , and I’m totally fine!”

The more time passes, the more Taako starts to breath again.  Magnus is showing absolutely no sign that the cookie’s messed with his insides in any way.  It’s fine.  It’s really fine.  He realises that Magnus has started to knead at his shoulders in worry as he waits for a response.

Taako frowns.

“Don’t ever do that again!” He pushes at Magnus’s chest in aggravation, but also in total, utter relief.  It’s true.  Magnus is fine.  Everything’s okay.  “They’re for Candlenights, you philistine!  You can’t just go taking one whenever you feel like it!”

Magnus starts to laugh, and Taako, despite himself, can’t help but join in. 

**xiii.**

“You tiny bitches!  I could _eat you!”_  Taako feels wholly victorious.  _Fuck elevators._ Fuck them and their claustrophobic interiors and their confusing buttons and their propensity for breaking down when it’s least convenient.  They are the worst, and that’s without Lucas’s sadistic need to make an already shitty elevator shittier by adding in some quantum size mechanics or whatever the fuck.  His friends are getting eaten by some giant cockroach?  Taako doesn’t care.  He is _out here,_ making this tiny diorama his bitch as he looms over it like Godzilla, enjoying his decadent sandwich and cheering on from the side-lines.

It’s not the most sporting of choices, but he feels like he’s _earned_ this.  He told them!  He told them, and they didn’t listen.  And now he is the winner.  It’s Taako.  Forever.  Anyway, his nonchalance is based on a eighty/ninety percent trust that Magnus and Merle are competent enough to get out of this one alive.  Honestly if they die fighting a cockroach, they never deserved the title of ‘Reclaimer’ in the first place.

The sandwich is really, _really_ good.

**xiv.**

“Sir, look!”

Taako glances up from the book he’s been reading whilst Angus practices the new cantrip he’s given him to focus on for the day, and smiles when he sees a beam of gentle light emanating from the tip of Agnus’s wand.  It’s the first successful cast of the aptly named ‘light’ cantrip that he’s created in the past half hour.

“Hey, look at that.  Lumos, am I right?” Taako quips.  Agnus tilts his head in confusion.

“I don’t understand, sir,” he says.  The beam of light flickers.

“Don’t worry about it.  Keep your concentration up, little dude, or you’ll lose it!”

“Oh, right, of course!” Angus furrows his brow, placing all his focus back onto the wand and the spell. 

Inwardly, Taako’s glad he took Angus up on his request to learn the art of spellcasting.  For one, he definitely owes him for a whole list of things, not least of which is the silverware controversy, but also, the kid is just so tremendously enthusiastic about the whole thing.  That he’s placed his trust in _him_ as a teacher is a mystery to him day in, day out.  He’s hardly the perfect role-model; far from it in fact, but Angus latched on to him and his fellow reclaimers like a lost puppy, for whatever reason.  So now he has a protégé.  It’s pretty cool.   

“Hey, Taako?” Angus pipes up a couple of minutes later.  “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, fire away,” Taako makes a mental note of his page number before shutting the book to give Angus his full attention.

“Um.. what happened to Merle’s arm?  I never actually heard that bit of your adventure.” He looks concerned, like he’s maybe stepping onto a topic that might end up being too scary to handle.  It only intensifies when Taako laughs at his question.

“No, I’m sorry, that’s not a good response; it wasn’t really funny, but like, in retrospect -,” Taako takes a moment.  Angus looks mildly horrified.  “Magnus _cut it off_ , can you believe?!”

“What?!  That’s terrible!” Angus goes wide-eyed, not daring to believe that one of his favourite people ever would do such a thing.  “Why – why would he-,”

“Don’t even worry, Agnes, it was for Merle’s own good, as much as he complains about it.  He would have met the same fate as Boyland if Magnus hadn’t acted as quickly as he did.”

“Oh.. sir, please don’t bring up Boyland.”  Angus looks down at his feet for a moment, and Taako swears there are tears welling up behind his glasses.  “I’m still.. I’m still very upset about that.  He was so kind to me.”

“Oh, come on, you too?  You barely knew him!”

“You saying that makes me think that it was _you_ who didn’t know _him._.. With respect, sir.”

“Ugh, whatever.  Merle was about to meet his crystalline death, Magnus did him a favour.  Plus he got a sentient wooden arm out of it, so he got a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.”

“I see..!  It’s amazing that there’s enough trust between you all that you’d let each other cut appendages off.”

“That’s.. kind of a weird way of looking at it, but yeah, I guess?”  Taako pauses, taking a moment to contemplate.  The more he thinks about it, the more he realises that he’s really been taking Lucretia’s advice to heart since their strange, tea-fuelled ‘review’.  “We keep each other alive.  Can’t ask for more than that.”

It’s funny – he hasn’t thought about it for a while.  They’ve come a long way as a team, choosing to work together far more than trying to do the best for each other individually and hoping it all works out.  As things go, it’s a far more coherent way of working.  Merle’s using his healing to – maybe not its full potential, that would be giving him too much credit, but certainly enough that he’s saved Taako from near death a couple of times, plus Taako and Magnus seem to have worked out a rhythm in battle, making sure that their attacks hit where they’re supposed to, and even tag-teaming on occasion.  A thunder wave cast onto Railsplitter makes for a _formidable_ weapon.

“Is that all?” Angus asks quietly, contemplating.  “If you don’t mind me saying, sir.. I mean… you and – and Magnus -,”

“Ango, darling, please,” Taako puts in, though not unkindly.  “I can see where you’re heading, and that’s a path down which even I haven’t attempted to travel just yet.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to overstep -,”

“No, no, you aren’t.”  He smiles, ruffles a hand through Angus’s hair.  “I’ll figure that one out as it unfolds.”

“Well, in any case, the three of you make an amazing team,” Angus says, changing tact a little.  “I mean, maybe Miss. Carey and Miss. Killian and Miss. Noelle are more competent fighters, and they’re really, _really_ cool -,”

“Harshing my buzz here, Ango.”

“Sorry, I just mean to say that I feel like the world is going to stay safe with you guys protecting it!”

“Well, that’s very nice of you to say, Angus,” Taako smiles, reaching up to pat him gently on the head.  “And also extremely, laughably optimistic.  But thanks anyway.”

**xv.**

When the first earthquakes rip through Refuge, toppling its buildings and setting them ablaze, Taako feels true fear for the second time in his life.  It all happens so quickly that he barely has time to process it as the ground splits beneath them, white light and blazing heat spilling from the fissures, the sound of screams surrounding him from all sides.

He remembers one thing – he remembers looking over at Magnus as the ground splits.  He remembers taking his hand and clutching it with all his strength as he refuses to break eye contact with his one lifeline, the last thing he might ever see. 

He remembers falling, and then –

white.

**xvi.**

Right, so, not actually dead.  Taako slow-blinks as he takes in Refuge, whole and unshaken and definitely not on fire. 

His gaze falls on Magnus as he goes, and he remembers their supposed last moments, falling through the fissure with their hands tightly clutched together like – like it was their last ever chance to.  Magnus must be reliving it as well; he’s _blushing._ It’s all kinds of adorable.

Taako winks.

Magnus flushes red.

**xvii.**

Yeah, okay, so maybe there’s a _ridiculously enormous_ purple worm that’s right on their tail and hungry for blood (mixed in with a healthy dose of clay), and maybe they’re going very, very, uncontrollably fast in their unstable minecart, but there’s no doubt that this definitely makes for one of the most exhilarating battles the Tres Horny Boys have found themselves in yet.  They’ve really got to think on their feet, make every move count – there’s far too much resting on their success to fail now, their own lives included; they won’t get a do-over this time.  It’s all dependant on their ability to work as a team.

Now, when they first arrived at the Bureau of Balance, had they been faced with this exact situation, Taako would have accepted his fate – would have stood up and jumped straight into the Purple Worm’s terrifying, rotating rows of sharp, sharp teeth.  They lacked co-ordination, they lacked stability – they lacked _teamwork._ As far as he was concerned, they would have been doomed from the word go.

But now.. things have changed.  The synergy between them is almost palpable as they pull together, not even having to warn the others of their next move – they’ve got to the point now where they can predict and move accordingly, working as one.  They cast protective barriers, throw robot arms, or in Taako’s case, cast the notorious Black Tentacles to halt the purple worm, even for a moment, and it’s _working._

“Good job, Taako!” Magnus calls over as they watch the purple worm struggle around the writhing mass of tentacles suddenly in its way.  Taako grins, exhilarated.  They’re going to do this.  They’re going to save Refuge.

**xviii.**

As they watch the purple worm dive back into the ground from whence she came, leaving Refuge unharmed and the three of them alive – exhausted, but alive – Magnus whoops and cheers loudly, bringing his two friends in to his sides and squeezing in exhilaration.  They’re all grinning so wide, knowing that they beat the odds to do something miraculous, something extraordinary.

“ _Fuck_ yes!” he shouts into the clearing.

“That’s how you do it!” Merle joins in, exuberant despite being three feet off the ground in Magnus’ embrace. 

“Suck on that!” Taako calls, partly for the sake of joining in, partly in complete, utter joy. 

As Avi makes his way over to them, Merle hops out of Magnus’s arm to invite him into their celebrations, but Taako -  Taako finds he can’t bring himself to let go.  So he doesn’t.  And neither does Magnus.

Taako looks up, and Magnus looks down, and they get caught somewhere in the middle, both smiling widely, eyes shining as the adrenaline flows through them.  It’s – nice.  Magnus squeezes gently, and just..

.. doesn’t let go.

**xix.**

(he feels static in his head, not for the first time, like trying to grasp a memory he can’t quite reach)

**xx.**

“So, the Grim Reaper paid me a visit earlier,” Taako announces as he lets himself straight into Magnus’s room.  As conversation starters go, it’s not the most conventional, but Taako would rather just cut to the chase.

“The Grim Re – oh, that Kravitz guy from Lucas’s lab?” Magnus looks up from where he’s sitting on his bed, the latest duck he’s working away at sitting on his lap, apparently unperturbed by the sudden intrusion.  The duck is yet another of the tiny masterpieces carved from some of the biggest hands Taako’s ever seen on a man.  It never fails to impress him, just how much delicacy and finesse Magnus manages to put into the things he truly cares about, despite his brawny exterior. “What did he want?”

“He’s still trying to get the deets on our abnormal death count,” Taako shrugs, leaning back against the door.  “I wish I knew where he was getting it from.  But I guess I managed to assuage him, since he’s officially null-and-voided all our past transgressions, so long as we keep our overall death-count at a decent average from now on.”

Magnus chuckles, at that.  “Well we can definitely _try._ I don’t think any of us could have predicted Refuge.”

“You’re telling me!  Those Grand Relics are some real serious shit.”

“Well, we’ve nearly got them all now, right?  Only two more to go.  That’s a whole lot of people we’ve protected!”

“And most of them don’t even know it,” Taako feigns despair, letting his inner diva shine through for a moment as he clutches a hand to his heart.  “And there I was hoping for fanfare and festivals when we’d got them all.”

Magnus’ grin slips, at that.  Taako frowns; not the reaction he’d been expecting.  He starts to make his way across the room, and as he does, Magnus looks up at him wearing an expression of genuine concern.  “D’you think Lucretia’s made plans for what’s going to happen to the Bureau once we _have_ got them all?” he asks, worrying at the duck for a lack of anything else to do with his hands.  Taako sits down next to him, tilting his head as he contemplates the question.

“Well…” he starts, smirking.  “First things first, she’s gonna have to find a way to get these off.”  He raises his arm and motions to the Bracer of Balance that sits unmoving on his arm by waving it inelegantly in front of Magnus’ face.  Magnus smiles, almost wistfully.

“I dunno.  I’ve kinda got used to it as a part of my daily outfit.” He stares down at it, running his free hand over the metal, over the embossed Bureau logo.  “Plus there’s so many good memories and experiences I have associated with it now.”

“Say that again when we’ve actually succeeded in our primary mission, my man,” Taako advises jovially.  “I wouldn’t worry about all that just yet, anyway; who knows what’s gonna get flung our way next?  After _literal time travel_ , I’m pretty sure nothing could succeed in surprising me, but I feel like shit’s only gonna get weirder from here on out.”

“The next mission could be dogs!” Magnus lights up like – well, like a pack of dogs just walked into the room.  “That’d be _awesome._ ”

“Wouldn’t Steven get jealous?” Taako points down to the magical fishbowl sitting beside Magnus on the bed.  Steven blows a couple of bubbles in response.  Steven knows what’s up.

“Nah, they’d be best buds!” Magnus grins, picking Steven’s bowl up and holding it up so as to talk to his friend to his face.  “Wouldn’t you, Steve?”

Steven has a languid lap of the bowl.

“That’s right.”

“But what if it was a dog that had the grand relic?” Taako asks as Magnus gently sets the bowl back down onto the bed, and then frowns as realisation strikes.  “Wait, this is a stupid conversation.”

“If the dog had the relic we’d all be safe, because dogs are good and would never fall under its thrall,” Magnus reasons in a tone that carries a strong ‘don’t be silly, Taako’ implication.

“Oh, right, I forgot.  You have me beat with pure logic,” Taako falls backwards with a dramatic sigh in a mini trust fall, manoeuvring himself so that his head drops with a soft bounce onto the pure muscle that is Magnus’ legs.  He stares up at Magnus, frowning.  Magnus stares back, confused.  “This isn’t nearly as comfortable as I’ve been thinking it would be.”

“… I’m sorry?” Magnus isn’t entirely sure where to come at this wholly new situation from, evidently. 

“I guess I’ll allow it,” Taako decides after a couple of second’s pause, shimmying around to find that golden bit of leg that fits his head most comfortably.  “When this is all over,” he says, switching back to the topic at hand like everything is normal and nothing potentially game-changing is happening between them right now. “We’ll get the thanks we deserve, which hopefully amounts to of a whole _heap_ of gold, and then we’ll all go live out our lives, and you can finally get your dog, and Angus can come live with us.”

“…. Us?” Magnus asks, tilting his head.  In reply, Taako reaches up, takes one of his hands and places it onto his head in what he hopes is a not-so-subtle hint.  After a moment’s hesitation of unsure, prolonged eye contact, Magnus lifts his hand and starts to run it through Taako’s hair, stroking the soft threads gently, eyebrows raised like, ‘ _is this okay?’_  

Taako smiles softly.

“You got it, Mango.”

**xxii.**

There are a million thoughts running through Taako’s head as he _feels_ himself changing under the curse of the goddamned fucking Wheel of Fuck Everything, or whatever those two elven _fuckers_ have called it (and how did he ever think they were cool, honestly?  Talk about incongruous misjudgement of character); thoughts that range from _knowing_ his friends are having a far worse time of it to despairing despite that as an absolutely fundamental aspect of what makes Taako _Taako_ is ripped from him.  He doesn’t want to look at them until he’s sure he’s been able to cast his illusionary disguise, to make it seem like nothing ever happened.

He doesn’t want Magnus to see him like this.

It’s so superficial and so – _vain,_ but he’s relied on his ethereal beauty for his entire life; inwardly, he equates it to self worth, tying it to his relationship with his friends, his work, _himself._ To lose that.. he’d rather have lost a pinky, or a memory, or an eye.  He hopes they blaze through this place and burn it to the goddamn ground when they’re done.

He feels a hand on his shoulder, and another taking his hand, and knows its Magnus, there for him like always to protect him not only physically, but emotionally.  He don’t know what he ever did to deserve someone like him, especially when he refuses to turn and acknowledge the gesture.  Magnus seems to understand regardless; he squeezes Taako’s hand softly, murmuring about how it’s all going to be okay, we’ll get those bastards, they can keep taking from us but they’ll never take our resolve.

Despite everything, Taako nods, defiant.

**xxiii.**

“I got a fucking idea for you,” Taako says, and its anger that’s fuelling him right now; pure, raw emotion that he uses to cast his soul out of his body and fling himself between planes.

What he finds there is.. quiet.  The space between planes is silent, dark, timeless.  It’s the sort of place, this plane lacking in any discernible cardinal direction, where a wizard recently made incorporeal can free-float in the gravity-less vacuum and just.. think.

It’s incredible, he muses, how his priorities have shifted so drastically over the course of a year, from ‘Taako comes first’ right there at the beginning to dropping his literal soul from his body to leap headfirst into the abyss, toward the literal plane of the dead to rescue his –

… friend?

That doesn’t seem entirely adequate.

Possibly, he realises with what would have been a jolt, had he been corporeal, ‘love of his life’ would be more accurate, but he figures that’s probably an epiphany to keep tampered down until he’s actually managed to save him.  To realise that, and then lose said object of affection seconds (minutes? Years? Who knows, in this place) later would be… unfortunate.

The truth of it is this: Taako’s never met anybody quite like Magnus.

He rushes in to fights without thinking, he throws himself at situations with the bravado of a bugbear in a china shop, he literally flings himself out of windows to get shit done, he cleaves enemies in two with Railsplitter – all of which, Taako would not be hard-pressed to admit, was hot as hell.  But he also _cares_ , so, so much.  He protects his friends and the ones he loves with a ferocity that scares Taako, sometimes; he carves them tiny wooden masterpieces, loves children and animals with all his heart, doles out bear hugs like the world’s about to end, eats Taako’s macaroons trusting that they won’t be hideously poisonous. 

Taako wants to give back.

After what feels like a small eternity, he stretches out his ghostly hand as far as it can go, and heaves the inter-planar equivalent of a huge sigh of relief as Magnus’s fingers reach over to intertwine with his.  Immediately, Taako pulls him over, focusing his entire being on getting them away from the beckoning astral plane as quickly as he possibly can.  He can feel the pull, but – not today.  He’s got more important things to do.

“You came for me,” Magnus says, disbelieving, wonder in his eyes as he reaches up his other hand to  cradle the back of Taako’s neck.  They’re so close, now, floating and spinning slowly through the endless void together as one. 

“Of course,” Taako says plainly, as open and honest as he gets.  It’s not much, but there’s multitudes contained in those two words; layer upon layer of meaning that he’ll get to articulating, someday.

“That’s – _thank -,”_ Magnus starts, and then is cut off by Taako’s mouth on his, finally, _finally._ He doesn’t hesitate to give back, moving to wrap his arms around Taako and pull him even closer; and maybe they’d have an enhanced experience if either of them could actually feel the sensation of their lips moving against one another, but it hardly matters.  It’s the actions that count, and the actions are sincere, speaking of the dichotomy of near loss and of sheer _love_ and of the joy of giving a giant middle finger to the void as they float back toward their home, wrapped around each other to provide a joyous warmth in the cold, cold silence. 

Merle inadvertently interrupts with his magical hand reaching out between planes to grab them and ensure their safe return, but he wasn’t to know, and Taako thinks Magnus would agree with him that he’d rather be safe on solid ground than spinning eternally in a dark abyss.  He doesn’t let go of Magnus’s hand as they’re steered back, unable to stop smiling as he bumps his forehead against Magnus’, pure joy running through his very being despite knowing that what’s waiting for them on the other side is less than ideal.  It doesn’t matter.  He feels _invincible._

No matter what happens, he knows that they have each other, and with that sort of love and trust powering them on there’s no doubt in his mind that they’re capable of anything and everything, all at once. 

They’re going to win.

**Author's Note:**

> I call this my Magnus Opus. ;)
> 
> You can find me over at starblastingintotheabyss on tumblr, come say hi!


End file.
